105 Comments on this post:

Do you think drug forfeiture laws in the United States are fair and just? Or are they abused to the benefits of law enforcement agencies?

The War on Drugs is a sham, a scam and a flimflam.....always was...always will be.

The draconian forfeiture laws are probably unconstituional...but since so many honrable people are becoming wealthy , thanks to these laws, they are here to stay....we have the best police that money can buy...the best judges that money can buy....and the best politicians that money can buy.

And one other thing, Barack Hussein Abama promised hope & change....the man is a reneger....this is the same old shit.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 5:02

Working with a back-up browser...Mozi;lla is all screwed up....no Spellchecker on this browser....pardon my typos.

By:Ask01 on 5/13/13 at 5:23

I agree whole heartedly with the premise the 'War on Drugs' is a sham and total waste of money.

A look back at the failed social experiment of Prohibition confirms the fact. After wasting many valuable resources trying to eradicate alcohol, the government had to acknowledge failure.

Gang wars fought over territory endangered many innocent lives while enriching the criminal element. Meanwhile, precious little was left to show for their inept performance.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

The forfeiture of drug funds has a legitimate aim, but the illegitimate twist added by many law enforcement agencies to line their departmental pockets amounts to little more than sanctioned thievery.

I believe their should be no way for law enforcement to benefit from any aspect of 'doing their job' and be forced to turn monies and property over to a third party.

Then perhaps they would actually pursue actual crime instead of the most profitabl;e.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 5:43

Wait until the Republicans take back the White House in 2016....any "progress" under BHO will be reversed; the GOP embraces the police state concept.....America has gone to the dogs.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 5:59

Lighting up right now....call the police!

By:Rasputin72 on 5/13/13 at 6:04

Certainly the premise was correct,but the smell of money is an aphrodisiac to every culture.There is such a fine line between the criminal element and law enforcement at most levels that the aphrodiasic has made criminals out of law enforcement.

If ill gotten gains should be purged from the criminals, the last benificiary should be law enforcement and their benefactors.

The fine line between criminal and law enforcement has been breached.

By:Rasputin72 on 5/13/13 at 6:06

The doobie is here to stay.

By:yogiman on 5/13/13 at 6:08

Not many decades ago drugs were "over the counter" buys. Then the "guvmunt" decided they needed control over what the common citizens could buy.

The government has continued their takeover of the control of our nation's citizens since they found they could control them without rebellion.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 6:40

Rasp, the basic premise is wrong....rewarding the criminal justice system financially for their zealotry in a particular program can only lead to a distortion of priorities and wholesale corruption over time....it's simply human nature.

If the criminal justice system was rewarded financially for busting prostitutes, for example, we would see a War on Prostitution.....If the criminal justice system was rewarded financially for busting deadbeat dads, for example, we would see a War on Deadbeat Dads.....if the criminal justice system was financially rewarded for busting internet hackers, for example, we'd see a War on Hackers.

Singling out the illegal substance market for often-automatic confiscation of the accused person's assets has created this institutional monster....this practice must be outlawed.....before the idea spreads to other areas of "criminality".

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 6:43

Just to be fair and balanced: How about we sieze the assets of accused tax cheats, like we do with accused Cannabis smokers, dealers and growers? How far would an idea like that go in Congress or a state-house? Too close to home for comfort?

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 6:53

I agree with the Rasp on one thing, the doobie is here to stay.

And Yogi's 7:08 actually made sense.

By:govskeptic on 5/13/13 at 6:56

The corruption in these "forfeiture Laws" occurs and perpetrated by allowing the
Law Enforcement community and Special Task forces to keep the money in their
own special accounts. These stops occur, very often unconstitutionally, with no
interest in the drugs war, but are selective with the sole purpose of harassing
a suspect into giving up any cash in their possession. It doesn't matter if that
cash is for a lawful reason or not, it will be taken and then the driver has to go
to court and prove it's lawfully theirs.

Investigative reports in Nashville and Knoxville revealed that most of these stops
have occurred in the West bound lanes of I-40 when there's like to be cash in
the vehicle or truck, versus the actual drugs within when traveling east on I-40.
Sadly, but not surprisingly the District Attorneys of these counties go along
with this type of behavior by these officers. Use of Wildlife Officers is often
used because they have search and seizure authority beyond that of most
other officers, which is for the sole purpose of avoiding Constitutional guarantees.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 7:03

The Bush Administration spent millions targeting Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong fame...he had endorsed a line of bongs, ( a type of water pipe ).....the man did time...he's now a convicted felon....there is a visible mean streak in these Drug Laws.

One wonders, how did we let things sink to this level? Ours is the land of the free and the home of the brave? You gotta be kidding.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 7:09

Well said, Govskeptic.

In NY, they use the Conservation Officers for the same purpose...to circumvent the US Constitution....instead of going after poachers and fisherman without a fishing license, the "Green Shirts" are now fishing for drugs, drug money and drug users...there's big money in the War on Drugs...there is no War on Poachers.....it's the cash incentive thing, once again.

By:yogiman on 5/13/13 at 7:16

As a Tennessee fanatic, Loner; if you aren't already familiar with it, you might be interested in www.bobbie@tneagleforum.org/

Should the US government seize the assets of the Haslam family until this Pilot-Flying J fraud investigation and all legal actions have been completed?

Why strip the drug law defendants of their abilities to defend themselves in a court of law, while we allow the really huge rats, like the Haslams, to keep their ill-gotten wealth, so as to be able to defend themselves in court?

This double standard for Drug War defendants is a disfiguring blemish on the US criminal justice system and it’s gotta go…..but don’t hold your breath, there’s no incentive for reform.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 7:22

Without a tin-foil helmet, I would not be able to understand what was said on those sites, Yogi....besides, my PC has enough E-pathogens in it already...but thanks for the offer.

By:Rasputin72 on 5/13/13 at 7:22

When the rhetoric ends today, the dollar will still reign supreme in all matters.

Fair and balanced is nothing more than poppycock.

On I40 between Kingston Springs and Bellevue today a law enforcement team will harass without an an apology an innocent traveler or travelers.

Chances are that the traveler is a better citizen than the law enforcement representative.

By:BenDover on 5/13/13 at 7:26

The war on drugs is a non-value-added waste of tax dollars at best and a family and society destroying criminal factory at worst.

By:yogiman on 5/13/13 at 7:31

It's easy to accuse without knowledge, Loner, just "open your mouth". What makes you so sure the Haslam are criminals?

If Haslam is a criminal as claimed, I believe we Tennesseans would be looking to get him out of our office.

By:Jughead on 5/13/13 at 7:40

Pelotas.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 7:40

Yogi, the Haslams are crooks...brother Jimmy hosed America's truckers for years, cheating them out of rebates etc. the feds did a thorough investigation...the evidence is overwhelming.

Since the Governor, Billy Haslam kept his Pilot-Flying J holdings out of a blind trust arrangement, he is fully culpable, in my view...he had to have known about the long-running scam...that's probably why he did not turn the matter over to a third party, in a blind trust deal...they might have blown the whistle on the whole criminal enterprise.

Since TN voters have shown a sever lack of good judgment, I doubt if the Governor will be forced out of office...the low-info voters are already defending Governor Billy and his filthy family.....they are stuck on stupid.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 7:41

"Sever" s/h/b "severe"...my bad.

By:Captain Nemo on 5/13/13 at 7:46

Traveling as much as I do on the Interstates and seeing all of the drug enforcement car, I have never been pulled over, unless I was breaking some traffic law. The trick is not to give them a reason to pull you over.

By:BenDover on 5/13/13 at 7:49

PSA - Being ethnically challenged and driving a Lincoln with the trunk scraping the ground from Memphis to DC is probably not the best way to avoid scrutiny.

By:Jughead on 5/13/13 at 7:51

Buenos dias, damas.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 7:52

Years ago, a federal court ruled that a K-9 officer...a dog.... is legally entitled and authorizecd to determine "probable cause" for a warrantless search....a human magistrate was once needed, to issue a search warant...but our justice system has since gone to the dogs.....thanks to the Drug War's professional zealots.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 8:00

El besador de las bolas ha descubierto Google Traductor.

By:bfra on 5/13/13 at 8:02

Loner - If you are caught hunting or fishing illegally in any way, they can take any & everything that aided you to be in that situation. Your equipment, vehicles, etc.

By:bfra on 5/13/13 at 8:03

Loner - Think our new troll is an immigrant?

By:Captain Nemo on 5/13/13 at 8:05

That right, Ben. Most of the cars I have seen pulled over are SUV’, and traveling at a high rate of speed. Plus the law enforcement locations are always in the same place. You would think that people would know were they are and slow down and not make themselves targets.

By:Jughead on 5/13/13 at 8:06

Loner no tiene huevos. Y, quiere los ninos en su cama.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 8:10

Instead of throwing out or reforming most drug laws, America has resorted to the "Drug Court", to handle the tsunami of drug cases flooding the criminal justice system.

The result: more "honorable" folks on the ever-increasing pay roll....more recipients of confiscated wealth....more professional zealots getting in on the scam....more of the wrong people going to jail.....white-collar criminals, the well-coiffed gold-diggers, are working the Drug War motherlode....as they claim the moral high ground.

By:Jughead on 5/13/13 at 8:11

If we executed all drug dealers within 1 week of capture, we'd have no drug problem.

I'm for it. You libtards with me?

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 8:14

Bfra...no, Jugs is faking it...a literal translation of his 9:05 is ample proof:

Maybe Jugger-nuts has shifted his hate, from the "apes" to the Hispanics?

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 8:16

Jug, as an addict to FOX News, we can start the executions with you and your kind?

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 8:18

They quickly and horrifically execute druggies in Saudi Arabia, Jugs....please emigrate there....you got the right stuff.

By:Loner on 5/13/13 at 8:22

Using Drug War logic: Since the vital organs in the convicted and the merely acccused were essential to the commission of their "crime", will the government eventually part-out druggies and others...to save the lives of "innocents"? We are headed in that direction.

By:Jughead on 5/13/13 at 8:24

Saudis have some good ideas. So did Hitler. You libtards are brainwashed dolts.

By:Jughead on 5/13/13 at 8:27

Loner: go git yerself some Spanitch help, senora.

No tiene huevos= he doesn't have balls; quiere los ninos en su cama= he wants children in his bed.

No wonder you did not want people to know.

By:BenDover on 5/13/13 at 8:29

Talking kinda bold this AM Juggsy... into the Mogen David a little early today, aren't you?

By:Jughead on 5/13/13 at 8:29

Love me some Hispanics. Even Mexicans. Good Catholic folks who believe in families.

I was just curious as to why you are raving like you've been swilling bum-wine so early on a nice Monday Morning. Better give yourself a break there buddy... I'm sure the 'Listerine' excuse is starting to wear thin with your assistant housewares manager at Penny's.

By:Captain Nemo on 5/13/13 at 8:35

Jarros es un ego 10 pies en un cuerpo de 2 metros,

By:Jughead on 5/13/13 at 8:36

Loner: Not sure about those other fellows. If they believe in hard work, self-responsiblity, and limited gov't, I will give them an audience.

I would support anyone who wants to tie you down, soak you with kool-aid, and allow red ants to snack on your brain and private parts.